The Ontario Building Code | Egress Facilities

3.13.4.6. Egress Facilities

(1) Escalators forming part of a required means of egress shall,

(a) where equipped to run reverse to the direction of egress travel, be capable of being stopped remotely and locally, and

(b) have a vertical rise not more than 12 m between floors or landings.

(2) Where electrically operated gates or turnstiles used for fare collection are intended to be used as part of a required means of egress from a rapid transit station, provision shall be made to release the gates or turnstiles in accordance with Sentence (4) to allow them to operate freely in the direction of egress travel.

(3) Where locked doors that prevent entry into a fare-paid area are to be used as part of a required means of egress from a rapid transit station, provision shall be made to release the doors in accordance with Sentence (4) to allow them to operate freely in the direction of egress travel.

(4) The release device required in Sentences (2) and (3) shall be installed as an ancillary device to the fire alarm system and shall release immediately,

(a) upon activation of the fire alarm signal,

(b) in the event of a power failure or ground fault, or

(c) upon actuation of a manually operated switch accessible to authorized personnel and located in,

(i) a fare collector’s booth or kiosk at the station, or

(ii) the central supervising station.

(5) After release, the gates or turnstiles in Sentence (2) or the doors in Sentence (3) shall be capable of reactivation only by manual actuation of the switch in Clause (4)(c).

3.13.5. Fire Safety Provisions